Santa Rosa 12-Year-Old Arrested For Allegedly Making 'Swatting' Call To Police
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) -- A 12-year-old has been arrested after allegedly making a fake shooting call to Santa Rosa police that triggered a SWAT response to a local home where heavily armed officers forced the startled residents from the house late Tuesday night.
Authorities said 911 dispatch received a call at approximately 9:00 p.m. and 0fficers were dispatched to 212 S Boas Dr. for the report of a gunshot victim.
The juvenile reporting party called 911 from a disconnected cell phone and stated his mother shot his father in the head. The juvenile reported his mother still had the gun and was hiding in the bathroom of their apartment. Based on the severity of the circumstances reported, numerous Santa Rosa Police personnel responded to the incident, along with Santa Rosa Fire personnel and AMR personnel.
Initial responding officers surrounded the residence and attempted to contact the juvenile who was supposed to be waiting out front. The juvenile could not be located. It was unclear if he returned to the apartment or left the area.
A SWAT team was assembled from officers on scene, and a plan was put in place to make contact at the residence. Officers were unsure of the severity of injuries the reported victim sustained and were trying to make contact at the residence as quickly and safely as they could.
Santa Rosa police said that as the SWAT team was preparing to make contact, dispatch was finally able to locate a contact number for the home. They made contact and had the occupants come out.
It turned out the originally reported events were false and the occupants of the residence were unaware of any police activity in the area until they were contacted by phone.
Additional investigation at the scene also determined the call was false and all units eventually cleared the scene.
Police said the call tied up approximately 15 officers and supervisors for approximately 45 minutes, along with fire department and AMR personnel.
"This obviously was a drain on resources for the city while it lasted and had the potential to cause other hazards for officers not involved in the incident, due to the drain on resources," Santa Rosa police said in a news release. "It also created a dangerous situation for the occupants of the apartment in question and the surrounding residences."
After the scene was cleared, investigators did some research into the initial call and some previous, unrelated calls which were also determined to be false reports.
They forwarded their findings, along with possible suspect information to Santa Rosa police. It was determined a 12-year-old suspect was responsible for Tuesday's false call and possibly for previous false calls.
An address was located for the juvenile and he was contacted by officers. The juvenile was arrested and released on a juvenile referral to his family.